Chapter 8
From the beginning, Sunday went nothing like Vanessa had planned. For starters, Sadie was still sound asleep as Vanessa got
ready. She thought about waking her, but Sadie had been up late talking to Ella. After a week of finals, most college kids
needed a little extra rest.
Vanessa made the drive to church alone, and as she did she thought about Sadie’s first night home. There had only been half
an hour where she and Sadie could talk. They had stood near the Christmas tree so Sadie could hang her favorite photo ornament—the
one of Vanessa and Alan and Sadie when she was in eighth grade.
Their last formal picture as a family.
The whole time Vanessa had looked for a way to tell Sadie about Ben. Vanessa could’ve been wrong, but she wondered if maybe
Sadie had wanted to talk about something, too. In the end, neither of them got that far.
The problem was simple. Vanessa wasn’t the only person glad to have Sadie home. Finally, when Sadie turned in last night,
Vanessa figured she would simply introduce Sadie to Ben at church. Keep things casual.
But she was still asleep when Vanessa walked out the door.
Instead of having Sadie with her, Sunday service that morning turned out to be the place where Vanessa introduced Ben to Maria
and Leigh. The two practically ran up when Vanessa and Ben entered the back of the church.
Leigh didn’t even try to keep her voice down. “You must be Ben Miller.” She held out her hand and shook his. She didn’t wait
for a response. “I’m Leigh.” She elbowed their other friend. “This is Maria.”
Maria didn’t try to interject. She merely raised her hand and smiled. Vanessa hung her head for a moment and then looked up,
laughing. There was no stopping Leigh.
Ben seized the break from Leigh. He smiled at Vanessa’s friends. “Nice to meet you both.”
Leigh pointed to herself, Maria, and Vanessa. “We’re a trio. With Vanessa, that is. Not a singing trio. We aren’t touring.
Just a trio. Of friends.”
“Ah yes. The dance committee.” Ben rolled with Leigh’s antics. His charming attitude only made Vanessa more attracted to him.
“That’s us.” Leigh smiled, obviously proud of herself.
Maria cut in. “We’ve been friends since we met.” She smiled at Leigh, then Vanessa. “We have a lot in common, don’t we, girls?”
Vanessa loved these friends of hers. They were genuine through and through.
A cool breeze came over the grassy front yard of the church. Maria turned to Vanessa. “Where’s Sadie?”
“She needed her sleep. She was wiped.” Vanessa felt her phone buzz. She checked it. “This is her! We’re going to meet up back at the house after the service.”
“I remember my first semester of college.” Ben seemed careful not to stand too close to Vanessa. He glanced at Maria and Leigh.
“I’d come home and sleep fifteen hours straight.”
“That happened to me, too. In fact, it still does.” Leigh shook her head. “And I never even took a class.”
The group laughed and found their seats. Maria and Leigh sat at the end of the same pew. Vanessa couldn’t exactly hear them,
but her two friends might as well have been shouting the obvious. Vanessa could see it in their raised eyebrows when Ben wasn’t
looking.
They clearly thought something was going on.
The sermon was like it was written for Vanessa and Ben. The focus was on Joseph and how he kept moving forward. He didn’t
look back and get lost in the past. If he hadn’t listened to God and kept moving ahead, what would’ve happened? There would’ve
been no Mary and Joseph, and without her husband, how would Mary have survived?
Joseph obeyed God and did the next thing even when it was difficult. And as a result, the Savior was born and the world was
changed.
When the service was over, Maria and Leigh approached. After a few minutes of talk about the service, Maria took a step back.
“Well, on that note, Leigh and I need to go chat about tomorrow’s Gingerbread House Competition.”
Vanessa grinned at Ben. “Another highlight for Columbus Cares. We started it last year for the kids of deployed soldiers.”
Leigh shook her head. “This year will be a doozy. We have about a dump truck of icing.”
“Last year, most of it wound up on the parking lot asphalt.” Maria wiped the back of her hand across her forehead at the memory.
“Talk about a mess. It was everywhere. Kids had sticky tennis shoes till spring.”
Ben chuckled. “Sounds like a good time.”
“Yeah. That’s it!” Leigh nodded at Vanessa. “You should bring him by.”
“Actually . . .” Vanessa shook her head. “We have plans. Ben has work to do.”
Maria raised her eyebrows. “Okay, then. I guess we’ll be on our way.”
The two left and Vanessa and Ben walked toward the parking lot. Again, Ben seemed to be careful. He didn’t walk too close
or let his gaze linger. As if he knew well the fact that Maria and Leigh and many of Vanessa’s friends were probably watching
them.
As they reached her car, Ben was still talking about the pastor’s words. “It made me think.” He stopped and smiled at her.
The sun was bright that morning, the air still chilly. Vanessa shaded her eyes. “Me, too. The importance of not getting lost
in the past.” She had felt that deeply. The words applied to them both.
“Joseph knew when to let go of all that had shaped his life . . . and when to look ahead. At things seen only in visions of angels.” Ben cocked his head. “Profound.”
“Mmm.” Vanessa could feel him working his way into her heart. “Old Walt would be proud.”
“Thank you.” Ben chuckled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Ben had to connect with his dad about work, and Vanessa needed to get home to Sadie. They agreed to meet at the Perfect Find
at three. “And this time bring Sadie.” Ben grinned. “If she wants to join us.”
“I will.” Vanessa hesitated. “I’ll see.” Vanessa waved and climbed into her SUV.
Almost immediately Ben pulled out his phone. Vanessa could see him standing outside his truck, face to the sun as he made
the call. He waved as she drove out of sight, and only then did Vanessa exhale. Every moment with Ben was better than the
last. Friendship or whatever, she wasn’t just having a great visit with Ben.
She was falling for him.
Ben had a few reasons he needed to talk to his father that Sunday afternoon. He had planned to go home for a day before the
dance, but now he didn’t want to leave. He couldn’t imagine missing out on the chance to spend the whole week in Columbus.
The store was closed on Sundays, but his dad and Gary often stopped by after church to unload boxes and play a game of chess.
His dad picked up on the first ring.
“Ben, my boy, good to hear from you.” His dad’s voice was chipper. Christmas music played in the background. Something from Frank Sinatra.
“Happy Sunday, Dad. How was church?” Ben kept his face to the sun. The warmth felt good after so many cold days.
“Wonderful. Talked about the wise men.” His dad mumbled something to Gary.
In the background, Ben heard Gary complaining. “Tell your dad he can’t move his rook right out the gate. It’s bad manners!”
Ben laughed. “Hey, Dad, listen, I have a question. What would you think about me staying in Columbus until Christmas Eve?
The day after Vanessa’s big dance?”
“Christmas Eve?” Ben’s father seemed surprised by the idea. “What about all the treasures you’re buying? We should get them
into the storefront. Last-minute shoppers need fresh merchandise.”
Ben thought his dad might say that. “What about the boxes? Anything new there?”
“Gary and I went through them. The folks around here buy up our best stuff before we can open the next container. You know
how it goes.”
Ben was careful to hide his disappointment. His dad deserved better. “Okay, then, let’s say I come back on Tuesday night.
We can set out what I find here and I’ll head back on Thursday morning so we can look around some more.”
“I like that.” His father seemed to take his time. “How was your service?”
Ben smiled. “It was about Joseph.”
“Now there’s a man who loved his wife.”
Ben closed his eyes and tried to picture Joseph. “He would’ve done anything for her.”
“That’s how I felt about your mother.” The chess game was obviously forgotten for the moment. “How can this be so many Christmases
without her?”
“I feel her with me.” Ben paced a few steps away and then back to his truck. “I always will.”
“And one of these days, I’ll find that diamond in the rough, Ben. Then we can take that trip to Italy. Something she always
wanted.”
Ben loved his dad. Such a good heart. “It’ll happen. One of these days.”
Gary called out again, “Your turn, Howard. Let the young man go.”
“I will.” His dad’s voice grew more thoughtful. “Who’s we?”
“We?”
“Yes. We.” His dad’s tone was kind. “You said, ‘So we can look around some more.’ Who’s we? The woman you’ve been talking
with?”
“Yes. Her.” Ben never held back with his dad. “To be honest, I may have found my own diamond in the rough. Mom would’ve loved
her.”
“Well”—his dad’s smile sounded in his voice—“your mother always believed you’d find love again.”
“I’m starting to believe that, too.”
Cars were parking in the lot now, and what seemed like choir members began to stream into the church.
Ben bid his father and Gary goodbye and hung up.
All he wanted to do was surprise Vanessa and stop by her house.
But if this was the time when she was going to talk to Sadie, then he couldn’t interrupt them.
His desire to be with her would have to wait.
Even so, three o’clock couldn’t come fast enough.
Vanessa picked up two lattes from Harvest Coffee in Old Town and returned home in time to hear Sadie ending a FaceTime call
with Hudson. Sadie’s door was open, but Vanessa knocked on the doorframe anyway.
“Come in.” Sadie closed her laptop, pushed back from her desk, and stood. She took one of the lattes. “So nice, Mom. Thank
you.”
The two hugged. “Your favorite.” Vanessa sat with her coffee on the edge of Sadie’s bed. “How’s Hudson?”
“Tense again. I think they’re in more danger.” Sadie took a sip of her coffee. “No details of course.”
“There never are.” Vanessa studied Sadie. “Did you get enough rest?”
“Yes.” Sadie looked slightly hurt. “How come you didn’t wake me? I wanted to go.”
“Aw, honey.” Vanessa felt bad. “You looked so tired. I thought you could use the sleep.”
A yawn came from Sadie. She laughed. “I guess I did.”
They were quiet for a moment, sipping their lattes. Vanessa reached back and picked up Sadie’s brown bear. “Did you mean to
leave Mister Bear behind?”
Another light laugh came from Sadie. She patted the bear’s head. “Cute little guy.”
“Remember how you used to pray with him when he was scared? You’d say, ‘Mister Bear is afraid of the dark. So I had to remind him about Jesus.’ Then you’d hold him tight and say, ‘He’s going to be okay.’”
Sadie tilted her head, her eyes soft. “I remember.”
“Sadie, I’ve been meaning to tell you about something. For the last—”
An alarm sounded from Sadie’s phone. She gasped. “Can it wait, Mom? Classes are up!”
“Classes. For next semester?”
“Yes.” Sadie hurried back to her desk chair and opened her laptop. “I can’t wait.”
Vanessa felt an ache in her gut. “I thought . . . I figured we would pick your classes together. While you were home.”
“I had to pick them weeks ago.” Sadie glanced back at her. “Didn’t I tell you?”
“You didn’t.” Still holding the bear, Vanessa stood and moved behind her daughter. “Can I see?”
“Of course.” Sadie signed into her college portal and pulled up her spring class list.
Vanessa scanned the courses. “Wait. Honey, you didn’t get into early education. You need that for your teaching credential.”
This seemed to hit Sadie. She pushed back from her desk and faced Vanessa again. “I was going to tell you yesterday.” Sadie
stood and reached for Vanessa’s hand. “Mom . . . I’m not sure about teaching.”
“What?” Vanessa felt the floor shift beneath her feet. “But you’ve always wanted to be a teacher. Ever since you were a little
girl.”
“Not anymore. I guess it took college for me to figure it out.”
For a moment Vanessa imagined Alan coming home from the base, his medic patch on the sleeve of his uniform. “Your father taught the other medics and you . . . you always wanted to be just like him.”
“But Mom . . . it’s my future, right? I’ll figure it out, but I don’t want to be a teacher. That’s what I wanted to tell you
last night, but we ran out of time.”
There was nothing wrong with Sadie’s tone. The news was shocking, that’s all. “Okay, sure. I mean, yes, it’s your future.”
Vanessa felt the picture she’d always held of the future crumble a bit. “I just never dreamed . . .”
Vanessa was trying to figure out what else to say when Sadie’s phone rang. She looked up. “It’s Ella. I won’t be long. I’m
going to her house in an hour. They invited me for dinner!”
“Sure. Of course.” Vanessa remembered to smile. “I’ll be in the living room.”
Already Sadie was into her other conversation. “You won’t believe it! I got into photography!” Sadie sounded as thrilled as
she did on Christmas morning. “Everyone said I wouldn’t get that class till next year, but I’m in it!”
Vanessa waited a beat. Then she stood and placed Mister Bear back on the pillow at the head of Sadie’s bed. She looked back
at Sadie and a thought occurred to her. This was a different daughter than the one she’d taken to Breckenridge four years
ago. Different from the one she’d dropped off at Reinhardt last July. Her daughter was growing up, and that wasn’t a bad thing.
Just different.
And something about that broke Vanessa’s heart.